Five, Four, Three, Two, One
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day seventy-one: New Year's Eve, 11:55pm. The arrival of midnight and the midnight kiss brings back memories of kisses that were and almost were.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third cycle Now here comes cycle 4! :D_

_Happy New Year's (Eve)! :D_

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**"Five, Four, Three, Two, One"  
Will, Emma, Glee Club, Puck/Quinn, Finn/Rachel, Will/Emma, Artie/Tina, Mike/Brittany**

After the success of their holiday party, Will had organized for another party, on the night of December 31st. It had required permission slips, with the late hour, but come New Year's Eve night, there they all were, the Glee Club, Will, and Emma. Even Quinn was present, which had required Will to appeal to Mrs. Fabray to sign the permission slip.

Everyone was having a great time, though there were still some corners covered in awkwardness. In one corner, however, there was mischief. Mike and Brittany sat huddled together.

"I'll start floating the word on that end, you get the other one, okay?" Mike told her. She grinned, giddy. Mike smirked, seeing her excitement. "Five minutes to midnight, we need to hurry this up." Brittany moved to head off, but he took her hand to stop her. She looked back. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she looked side to side. "Why wouldn't I be?" Mike shrugged, letting her go before moving off as well.

The instigator of the idea was forgotten. Once the two of them had decided on, the rest didn't matter. They went around the group, presenting them with the idea of pairing up for a time-honored New Year's Eve tradition.

The midnight kiss.

The idea had been set loose on the gathered group and, from that, set loose some memories in return.

They had not looked at one another for too long since Sectionals. She wouldn't look at him, he would keep an eye on her, for the baby… but their eyes met for a moment right then, as they shared a common memory.

It was winter break from school. Quinn loved this time… maybe more than most of the year. And now, at age twelve, she was trusted to go out on her own. When she would be sent on an errand, she was all too happy to put on her boots, her coat, mittens, scarf, and hat… if it snowed, even better.

She was on her way to pick up some apples – her mother had let her pick what kind of pie they'd make. Once she'd gotten them, she'd started back through the park on her way home. She was so caught up in the sight of the snow, all around her; she didn't see the boys, behind the hill, geared with an arsenal of snow balls to strike at unsuspecting passersby.

When they'd seen someone come along the path, they'd prepared for the hit. On the far left, Noah had been the one to realize…

"It's a girl," he told the other boys.

"So?" said one of the others, laughed with the rest. Noah shook his head, trying to decide how to respond.

Quinn was still walking along, taking her time to appreciate the scene. It was peaceful, quiet… it wouldn't be for long.

"Hey!" she heard a shout and she froze, looking right, just as a tall boy jumped over the hill and ran toward her. "Run!" he shouted. She looked back to see the others pop out, snow balls in hand. "Run!" he shouted again, just as she turned to go and he caught up with her, snatching her hand to pull her away from the start of the snowy onslaught. Quinn screeched, dropping her bag as they moved to take cover behind trees. "Don't worry, they'll get bored and go away," he told her, looking around the tree. He saw the bag on the snow, apples spilling out. "Stay here," he told her before dashing off. Quinn watched him go, watched him return with the bag, covered in snow from a couple of hits.

"Thanks," Quinn took the bag as he handed it back to her. She looked up into the face of her 'savior.' He was out of breath, but he looked back at her, and they sat there, hypnotized in the snow.

It was a memory they both knew they had and the other had. For Finn and Rachel, there was another memory called on by the challenge of the midnight kiss. The difference was neither knew it was shared among them both.

At thirteen, the Halloween party at school was an opportunity for a confluence of things they loved. There was an early end of their school day, there was the candy, and there were the costumes. Finn had needed for his mother to alter a bought costume, as none of them fit over his frame, the victim of growth spurts. At least, the mask still fit. Rachel had taken to the bathroom as soon as class had ended, changing into her own costume. She waited until she'd left the stall to put on her own mask, and then left the bathroom to go to the gym. She knew she needed to go before it was too late for the candy she wanted. It would be madness.

As she got into the gym, she looked around. The beauty of the costume, and the fact that no one had seen it yet, was that they wouldn't know it was her, and she could have fun.

That moment was short lived as she looked through the candy bowls around the gym and found all of them had been cleaned out from the kind she'd been craving all day. The other kinds were okay, but this had been the one she wanted more than any other.

She grabbed a few other things and went to sit. The eagerness in her had been trampled by disappointed expectations. Maybe the candy would help her get back on track.

Finn had seen the masked girl sitting alone with her small stash, looking bummed out. He felt the need to go to her, see what it was that had her so unhappy. He went up to her.

"Are you okay?" she looked up, staring at the masked boy.

"It's nothing," she shrugged. It wasn't going to be enough of an answer for him. She sighed. "I wanted those… mint chocolate rings. They didn't have any left," she chuckled at the silliness of it.

Finn thought for a moment before peeking into his bag. He picked through it for a few moments before pulling out his hand, victoriously holding four individually wrapped mint chocolate rings. He held them out to the girl.

When Rachel heard the sound of the wrappers crackling, she looked up. Seeing the chocolates, she got back up on her feet, looking up at the masked boy.

"Are you sure?"

"Take them," he nodded. Unlike boy's mask, Rachel's only covered her eyes, which let her smile show, as she took the chocolates, putting them with the other things she'd taken.

"Thank you," she nodded, looking up at the tall boy. What she could see of his eyes, he looked kind.

If not for the masks, they might have ended up in very different places. But the masks had been there and, as they had recalled the event separately, that was where it had stayed.

It wasn't the case for Will and Emma, who did remember a shared memory. In the light of events from weeks before, it had made them smile. That was hardly how it had been when the event had happened.

Emma had been at McKinley just two days, now starting her third. The start of the school year would often match with 'summer is over…' It did not feel that way, coming into school that day. Summer had decided to slap them with some heat one more time. Just as the air conditioning system had called it quits. Emma had come in, brandishing a paper fan, which she batted about, to harness some air and aim it at herself. There was some air, wind… outside. But inside the walls of McKinley High, it was a sweat box… she didn't like sweat… not even a little.

When she'd gotten to her office, pushed the door open… It was even worse in there. She had worked in the last couple of days to set up her office, and she'd been pleased with the space. The only thing that mattered on that morning though… was to open the window.

She tried to push it open from the top of the window… no joy. She tried one more time this way, again failing. She moved the books she'd set up in front of the window, trying not to get frustrated. Once the space was clear, she tried from the bottom of the window.

Will didn't actually mind the heat so much, not for a bit. Eventually, he would get tired of it, feel it weighing down on him, but for the moment he was okay.

He walked down the hall, knowing he'd have to deal with sweaty, fussy students on that day. As he passed by Emma's office though, he heard a frustrated grunt and he looked inside. He saw her standing at the window, trying to push it open. She looked about three seconds away from climbing on the shelf in front of the window, the better to pull it open.

"Morning, Emma. Do you need a hand?" he gave a smile. She turned around, looking fifty shades of relieved.

"Yes, please," she wiped at the sweat on her forehead. "When's the last time it was opened?" she breathed out.

"I'm going to guess 'a while,'" he moved to give it a shot. He gave a mighty push, and got nothing out of it.

"No luck?" Emma asked. He moved aside a step or two.

"I'll push from the bottom, you go from the top, alright?" he nodded. She nodded back, moving to stand next to him. Their arms overlapped as they positioned them, and they braced to give a push together. "Go," he instructed, and they pushed.

With a great flurry of air, the window finally came open. Will and Emma had a moment to cheer, and take in the relief of air on their faces.

"That's better… so much better…" Emma breathed, looking over at Will. Her breath caught again, realizing how close she stood to Will. He was looking back, neither of them moving.

The memory was making them smile, though they tried to keep it discreet among the kids. They were not unlike Tina and Artie, smiling to themselves over a memory of their own.

Being in Glee had really brought them closer, but they had been friends already. It wasn't always the easiest thing to explain, but then they just clicked. It had really gotten to be a closer connection a year before, shortly before the week off from school in April. When that had come though, their process hit a snag. Tina's parents had taken their vacation from work that same week, and they'd all gone away.

Coming back from the break, Tina was actually looking forward to going back, looking forward to seeing Artie again. She wasn't much for socializing, but Artie was just a separate category for her.

Artie was looking forward to seeing her, too. He felt different when he was around her… He liked that feeling. He'd been so happy to be spending more time with her so that, when the break came around, he was almost counting down the days until they went back to school. When the day came, he swore he'd never been ready so early before.

As he arrived at McKinley, he waited outside, looking around in hopes that he'd see her coming. He hadn't seen her though. She'd gotten right by him, which she was pleased about… all the better to sneak up on him.

Approaching the back of the wheelchair, she'd do her best not to enter his peripheral vision as he looked from side to side, trying to see her coming. She'd come to a stop right behind him, the giddiness of a kid in her heart as she was about to lunge, but then…

"So you got by me, uh?" Tina let out the laugh she'd been struggling to hold in. Artie was about to look over his shoulder, turn his chair around, but then there were arms around his shoulders, and Tina's face right next to his. He just smiled.

"I c-can't get one by you, c-can I?"

"No," he shook his head, so thrown at having her so close. He'd never seen how beautiful her eyes were. He was still seeing it on that New Year's Eve.

Once Mike and Brittany had finished putting the word out, they had been left with a reluctant dozen, just as they'd seen the clock, and everyone stood, a rush of excitement with the start of the countdown.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!"

Mike had looked to Brittany standing by him, to the others, and he'd made a decision. Just because they wouldn't do it didn't mean they wouldn't follow through on their plan. He quietly took Brittany by the hand and pulled her out into the hall.

"Seven! Six!"

Standing face to face, hand in hand, in the hall, the countdown carried on as Brittany called it in unison with those back in the rehearsal room.

They may not have been looking to embrace the idea of the kiss… Maybe they knew there were just those moments that this kiss wouldn't surpass.

"Five!"

Artie had felt the desire to kiss Tina as she'd been so close, but he had hesitated and the moment had passed. It hadn't been right… still, it had awakened the knowledge that he liked her.

"Four!"

Emma had felt something about Will from the moment they'd met, but then she knew he was married. After they'd opened that window, she had almost turned a deaf ear on that fact. But she'd been patient, and her time had eventually come.

"Three!"

The half-masked Rachel had felt such gratitude for the mystery boy who'd managed to return her happiness with that Halloween by the gift of four mint chocolate rings. So she'd stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss on the area of the mask where she could imagine his cheek was.

"Two!"

Standing in the snow, twelve-year-old Quinn and Noah, following their escape from the snow ball brigade, had felt their hearts beat with victory and, for the first time, they had moved closer and shared a two-second kiss. Pulling back, Quinn had smiled shyly, running home with her apples, as Noah watched her go, smiling too.

"One!"

Mike and Brittany didn't remember who had come up with the idea, but the fact of the matter was… maybe they'd both thought about it, but one of them had said it out loud first. Still, as the seconds had ticked by, Brittany's calling of the numbers had grown quieter, until the only voices they heard, the only voices counting down for their own moment, were the voices of the rest of the club inside the rehearsal room. Then…

"Happy New Year!"

Mike and Brittany had gotten their cue, and maybe it was the trepidation from the wait, and the countdown, but it just couldn't come fast enough. Finally, they had grinned and they had come forth for the kiss. When it was over, they were still all smiles.

Before they could rejoin the party, they carefully let go of the other's hand.

"Happy New Year," he said.

"Happy New Year," she replied.

THE END


End file.
